Horror on Nocturnal Hill
by ocean-view-luffy
Summary: Luffy hears a ghost story about a spirit haunting the hill, protecting her dead mother. But when he sets out to see if it's true, the straw hats are in danger. Multichapters.
1. The tale of terror

**Ooh! Let's do a horror fic!!!!! I'm not sure if it's good. So review nicely. -glares at flamers- **

It was a new town, a new time to explore.

A new time to be running after Luffy on another one of his hair brained plans.

"Luffy! Slow down!" Zoro shouted, turning the corner.

The boy looked at Zoro. "Awe, I thought we were gonna race to the bar." he said, putting his hands on his hips.

Zoro shook his head.

"No, it takes away from the drinking experience. If your too thirsty, booze tastes like water. Then, you can't taste yourself getting drunk off your ass." he explained.

Luffy stared blankly at Zoro.

"You zoned me out didn't you?"

"Pretty much"

The two sat down in the bar, looking around at the damp atmosphere. "Well, once I'm in my happy place, this will look like La-la land." Zoro said, patting Luffy on the back.

Zoro was in the middle of his sixth drink when a man burst through the door. He was drenched in the rain , which had started about 15 minutes ago. By then all the Straw Hats were gathered at the bar.

But back to the man...

"I heard her! The heiress of Nocturnal Hill!" he shouted.

The locals froze. "What did it sound like?"

The man ruffled his brown hair, sending drops of rain water flying.

"I was paying respects to a fellow I knew, when I heard a cold eerie sound. It sounded like she was crying. Scared the daylights outta me, it did." he said, waving his arms frantically.

Luffy scratched his head. "What's the heiress of Nocturnal Hill?" he asked innocently.

The bar tender walked over to Luffy, a bit surprised.

"Boy, it's the scariest thing in these parts of the Grand Line ,it is." talking with one of those accents where everything ends with it is.

Zoro snorted. "Ha! What's so scary about this heiress?" he said, guzzling down his drink. The other Straw Hats leaned in, knowing they were about to hear a story.

The locals just huddled together, frightened as a two years olds hearing about an evil Elmo.

The bar keeper sighed, and set down a glass. "My boy, it happened 10 years ago."

"Our town was a peaceful one. Nothing ever happened. Until the marines came. They were particularly angry because they didn't catch the pirate they almost had. So they assumed he was in our town"

Luffy leaned in closer, while Zoro tried not to laugh at the sight of Usopp and Chopper holding each other in fear.

"They killed dozens. But there was one little girl who had it the worst. She and her mother were out in town when A marine shot her.

The girl, who then was only 7, said she would never leave her mother's side. And so, she carried her mother into the cemetery , up on Nocturnal Hill. She buried her mother herself and sat by the grave.

And she hasn't left the cemetery for 10 years." the bar keeper said, pointing out the window.

"No one saw her leave. And no one saw her there. But there are strange noises at night. Horrible, moaning sounds from that hill.

Some say she's dead, some say she's fighting for her life, others say her spirit is still guarding her mother. But whoever disturbs that grave... never comes back."

Usopp let out a yelp as Sanji tapped him on the shoulder.

"Oi Usopp! Come down from that light!"

Usopp eased down from the light, sitting on one of the bar stools.

Chopper shook with fright. "Well, it's ok. We never have to go there anyway." he said, reassuring himself.

"Right Luffy?"

But Luffy had that look in his eye, the one that only meant trouble.

"Let's go." he said, heading from the door.

He swung it open, letting the rain and howling wind whip through the bar.

"Where are we going?" Zoro asked, already having an idea of the answer.

The captain turned to his crew. His straw hat casting a cold shadow over his gleaming eyes.

"Nocturnal Hill"

**Ooh, trouble!!! This story is going great. I just hope you all like it. **

**Zoro: You are the worst writer on this site!!**

**Me: I said no flamers!! **

**-hits Zoro over the head with a lamp- **

**Zoro: Jerk. Oh, and did I mention Ow. **


	2. Beast of bloodshed

**Things are starting to heat up. Yeah! I say that too much. Yeah is not the only word in my vocabulary. Not at all. I have lots of other words. And I don't always say "That's cute" or "cool!" when I review. -pouts- No. You all have the wrong impression.**

**Zoro: Get to the story already!!! **

**Me: Oh shut -up you homo. **

Luffy stood at the creaky rusted gates of the cemetery. The wind whipped rain around the crew as they watched their captain swing open the gates.

"Ooh. Creepy" he said, looking around. Zoro looked at the vast land of the dead.

"So where's this Nocturnal Hill?" he questioned.

Nami pointed to a tall step hill, topped with a lone scraggly tree. "That is Nocturnal Hill" Sanji wrapped an arm around Nami.

"Ah, my swan. Let me protect you from this eerie death pit." he cooed, resting his chin on the top of her orange head.

Usopp held on tightly to Chopper. "Yosh, this place is creepy. But I'm not scared. I once fought a bandit of zombies over on Lake Nightfall." he lied, pointing to himself.

Chopper gasped. "Really! Cool! I wanna be with Usopp." he declared, hiding behind the marksman. Luffy turned to his crew.

"We're not splitting up. It'll take to long to round us up again" he said sternly, holding his hat down upon his wet dripping raven curls.

The Straw Hats started into the graveyard, ready to attack if any threat appeared. Zoro muttered under his breath. "Luffy. Please, tell me why we're here?" he asked, shaking out the rain water that was pooling in his hair.

Luffy smiled, his eyes gleaming underneath his straw hat. "We're going to find the heiress!" he chirped, striding towards the hill. Robin pulled out a book.

"Wait captain-san! I have an old book on how to get through this maze." she said, flipping the pages, which were disintegrating in the rain.

"Maze?"

Robin nodded. "Yes captain-san. This graveyard turned into a maze when the heiress took over. To get to the hill we need to pass three tasks." she said, reading the small handwriting.

Chopper leaned out from behind Usopp, who was turning pale. "T-tasks?" he stuttered. The archeologist looked at the firs task.

"First, we need to pass the beast of bloodshed." she read, trying not to damage the tarnished papers.

Sanji laughed. "Well, Luffy already hired him" he said, pointing to Zoro. The swordsman closed his eyes. "You know that's a compliment right?" Zoro said, a teasing smile tugging at his mouth.

Sanji stomped his foot. "Damn it!" the cook cursed.

Nami froze as there was a low growl.

"Luffy, was that your stomach?"

"Huh- no."

The navigator looked around. "Then it must be the-"

"Beast!!!" Usopp yelled, barely dodging the dark figure that lunged at him.

The beast was black, half dog -half zombie. One eye was red, while the other hung out of it's socket. It was dripping slick dark oil, that ran into the streams the rain created.

Zoro didn't waste time attacking.

"Onigiri!"

His swords stuck into the beast. "Agh, Wadou !!" he gasped as the monster snatched the sword from his belt. Kuina's katana. His prized katana.

The swordsman growled "Baka." he muttered under his breath. Luffy looked at Zoro. He actually looked pale without his katana. It was his turn to act.

"This is for nakama! Gomu Gomu no...!"

He took a running start towards the zombie dog.

"Bazooka!"

The dog went flying, spitting out wadou as he went. Zoro ran to catch he katana. "Gotcha!" he said, placing it back on his belt.

Luffy jumped onto the dog.

"Gomu gomu no... pistol!" he shouted, cracking the neck of the dog. Nami clung onto Sanji at the sound of the cracking.

"Oh. That sounds horrid!" she cried. The cook's eyes turned to hearts.

"Ah my Nami-swan! You shouldn't worry, I am here to comfort you my dearest."

Usopp turned around. "Oh shut up and fight you -"

"What did you say to me!"

The marksman flinched. "Nothing, you keep comforting Nami" he said with a frightened tone.

The storm came down harder, pounding on Zoro's head. "Luffy, is it gone?" he asked, wondering if the boy had finished off the beast.

Luffy looked blankly at the monstrosity.

The boy nodded.

"Gone. It wasn't so hard to kill. What's next?" he asked Robin.

She flipped to the next page.

"The tomb tunnel"

**Done with chapter two. That's good. Comment please!!! **


	3. The river gore

**Ok, so now I forgot what the second task was called. I have to look back to previous chapters! -kicks self- Ow. Ah, here it is. The tomb tunnel. You're in for a treat. **

Zoro looked at Robin. Which he rarely did. "The tomb tunnel? Sounds like a kiddie ride"

Robin blinked, trying to read the writing, which was even smaller on this page.

"It's supposed to be a ride through the underworld... if you can face what lies there." she said, translating the text.

Luffy jumped. "Ooh! Ride! Where is it!" he said, looking around. Robin took a ribbon out of the book. She held it up, holding onto it as the wind tried to whip it away.

"There" the archeologist muttered, watching the ribbon glow.

Zoro sighed. "Ooh, magic ribbon. How original. What now? Is Sanji going to come in on a white hoarse?" he said sarcastically.

The hearts above the swooning cook's heads popped. "Er- no why would I have a white hoarse" he said, shifting his eyes.

"Get back, hide behind there. They know the plan!" Sanji hissed to a white hoarse, shoving it behind a tree.

Nami pushed Usopp aside and hurried over to where Robin had moved.

"Oh my god"

There were a row of coffins. One behind the other on a steady black river.

Zoro looked on it with a look of fright. Each coffin had their names on it.

Usopp looked at his. "Hehe, well. I guess I know where I'm sitting. I hope it's not for the rest of eternity." he muttered, climbing in.

Willingly Luffy jumped into his coffin as it started to journey down the river.

He was followed by Zoro, Sanji, Nami, Robin, Usopp, and Chopper. Franky was minding the ship, and did not attend.

"This isn't so bad." Chopper commented, hanging his arm over the side of the coffin.

Usopp grinned. "Ah, this is cool!"

Just then they turned a sharp corner.

"Hat!" Luffy cried clutching the hat to his chest. Zoro tensed up, and fastened all three of his katanas closely to his waist.

He kept a steady hand on wadou, making sure it wouldn't leave his side again.

"Oi! This was a bad idea." Sanji said, holding onto the vessel tightly. Robin tucked her book away.

Luffy laughed as they inched up a hill. Although it wasn't the hill they were looking for.

They were getting closer to the top, and the crew was getting anxious. Luffy threw his hands in the air.

"Come on everyone! Put your hands up and scream!" he said before disappearing over the top.

There was the sound of Luffy screaming playfully as Zoro inched up next.

"There is no way I am going to screeeaaamm!" he said, plunging over the edge.

Sanji laughed. "Ha! I bet marimo wet his paaantsss!" the cook exclaimed.

The rest of the crew followed this similar pattern as they tipped over the sheer drop hill.

**Zoro: No- you just ran out of ideas.**

**Me: Na-uh! It would take to long!**

When the crew had the courage to open their eyes, they were deep underground.

The river had turned red, and souls moaned from beneath the surface.

Zoro had been here before, and the last person he wanted to see was death.

Robin read aloud. "We need to seek help from the gate keeper. The keeper with grant us to the hill for a bargain."

Usopp shrieked loudly as a soul reached out for his hand. The cave was glowing with red light, casting eerie shadows of the dead on the wall.

And there, standing at a wall of fire, was a black hooded figure.

The gate keeper.

**Ok, this is cool. Well... I think it's cool -shifts eyes- **


	4. The gatekeeper's Nashajo

**Things are going very slow. Like snail slow. And that's what's getting me annoyed. **

"What is your purpose?" the figure asked in a raspy, low voice.

Luffy stood, shaking the coffin violently.

"We are here to find Nocturnal Hill."

The figure looked past Luffy, and settled it's eyes on Zoro.

"Zoro..." it said, trailing off.

The swordsman tried to jump out of the coffin.

"No! No, no, no!" he stuttered, remembering who was waiting for him.

The gate keeper pulled the hood back, revealing the tarnished and bloodstained face of Kuina.

"Kuina"

The girl nodded. "What do you offer for the bargain?"

Luffy looked around, seeing nothing to give.

"What do you except?" he said, fishing through his pockets. Kuina stated what she could take.

"Souls, human bodies, blood"

Luffy smiled. "I got none of that."

Kuina looked at him with a look most commonly expressed on the internet as O.o.

The straw hat finally realized what he had.

"Um... here" he muttered, snatching wadou from his belt.

Luffy made a small slit on his hand, and squeezed a bit of blood into the dead girl's hand.

Kuina smiled as the red liquid was absorbed into her skin. "Wadou still as sharp as ever, eh Zoro" she smirked, looking at the frightened swordsman.

"Um... yeah. I guess. Can we go now?" he asked, regretting ever getting off the ship.

Kuina handed Luffy a raw piece of meat.

"On your way out, Nashajo, the beast guardian will be hungry. Feed him this, and you will pass safely."

Nami raised an eyebrow. "You're giving Luffy meat... for our safety. He'll eat it." she said, snatching the flesh away from Luffy, who had already started drooling.

Sanji shuddered. "It's not even cooked!"

The coffins started moving again, and soon Kuina was out of sight.

Zoro gave a low sigh of relief. That was awkward.

Robin looked around, the cave had grown to dark for her to read. "It's too dark, captain-san. I cannot see."

Usopp fished through his pockets, "Ah- wait. Nope, I thought I had something."

Sanji pulled out his lighter.

"Here my Robin- chwan! You can see if this helps." he cooed.

Zoro laughed. "You know, it may be pitch black, but I can see love cook's hearts hovering everywhere."

"Oh shut up!"

Nami turned to Robin, who was trying not to set the book on fire.

"So, what now.. What's the third task?" she asked.

Robin read the book carefully.

"Well, we give the meat to Nashajo. The the river will lead us to the heiress."

Chopper started to worry.

"Nami, you have the meat.. Right?"

Nami smiled, "Of corse I do!" she said, pulling out the meat, waiting for the guardian.

Usopp started to shake. "Ooh, it's creepy down here. Where is that beast watcha-ma-call-it?" he asked, looking around for anything... beast like.

The tunnel suddenly filled with light, and the black river had turned blue green.

Sanji leaned over and tapped Nami's shoulder. "I'll protect you sweetie." he said, trying to draw away from the fact that he was trying to grope her.

"Sanji!" she hissed, smacking him away.

The cave was... cute. Like something out of a story book.

Luffy was getting impatient, and started to call the monster's name.

"Nashajo! Nashajo!"

Nothing. Zoro smirked.

"Maybe it was a fluke. I guess they thought no one would be brave enough to get this far."

Chopper looked around the brightly lit cave.

"Did the book say anything about this?"

Robin shook her head. "No, we should have seen it by now."

Just then Luffy gave a little "awe"

He pointed to a bunny that was curled up on a rock in the middle of the river.

It was white, and as it turned to them, it had bright blue eyes.

Luffy reached out to pat the tiny bunny, as it leaned forward to sniff his hand.

Nami saw a little tag around the bunny's neck. She squinted at the name engraved in the silver.

Nashajo

"Luffy! That's the monster!" she shrieked, trying to reach Luffy to pull him away.

"Awe, that's silly. It's just a little bunny."

Sanji scowled. " Tis' a vicious rodent if you ask me"

Zoro stared at the bunny. "Don't touch it Luffy! Even if it's not Nashajo, it might bite you if you scare it."

Not that Luffy was listening, he had brought the bunny into his coffin/boat.

"Hello little guy! You're so soft! I shall call you softie, and you shall be mine!" he said playfully, petting the bunny gently.

Zoro grunted as Luffy continued to play with the bunny.

"Luffy, put it down. It might be dangerous."

Luffy smiled his rubbery grin. "It wouldn't harm anyone, Zoro! It's a bunny!"

Just then the rabbit spotted the piece of meat in Nami's hands.

Luffy gave a yelp as it leaped toward the navigator, landing on her face.

"Agh! Get it off me!" she shrieked.

Sanji tried to pull the bunny off Nami.

'Bad! Bad rodent! Down Nashajo!" he demanded, tugging on the rabid bunny.

Luffy snatched Nashajo away before Sanji could kick it.

"Don't hurt softie. He just wants to be loved." Luffy cooed, snuggling the now normal beast to his chest.

Zoro took the piece of meat from Nami, who had Sanji cleaning of her bloodstained face.

"I think he just wants to be fed."

Zoro waved the meat at Nashajo, and left the food on the rock.

Luffy watched Nashajo leap out of his hands to eat the food.

Chopper cringed as the Coffins started moving, and the crew eventually passed Nashajo.

"Bye-bye softie!! Have a nice meal!!"

Usopp smiled cheerfully.

"Good, now all we have to do is see if this heiress exists." he said, resting his feet on the edge of the coffin.

Robin looked at her book. "We should be right on Nocturnal Hill" she said, tucking her book into a safe place.

The coffins stopped, and the crew slowly got out.

"So... there's the tree, there's the grave, so where's the heiress?" Zoro asked with a note of annoyance.

Luffy tried to blink the water out of his eyes. It was raining even harder that before... which made no sense.

The cave with Nashajo was sunny! What had happened.

Chopper froze as a voice from behind them boomed as loud as thunder.

"Who dares to disturb my mothers grave?!"

**Hehe, I used a little skit from Monty Python in there. With the "Tis' a vicious rodent line" **

**That's where I got the idea. The bunny from Monty Python and the quest for the Holy Grail was the guardian of a cave. So I named my bunny Nashajo. Not that the bunny was named Nashajo... I came up with that. **


	5. Heiress fantasies

**Ok... so I finally got to the heiress. My original plan was for them to just find her, but that was way to boring. **

Usopp gasped as her turned around. Standing in the rain was a tall, lean figure.

Pale white, red lips, dark- soul less eyes, and long black hair that dripped well below her waist.

Her clothes were old and tattered, but if you looked hard enough, you could guess that they were originally white.

"I said, who dares to disturb my mother!"

Luffy pushed Usopp and Chopper aside, sending them scrambling behind Zoro for protection.

"We are not here to disturb your mother... only to talk to you." he said, outstretching a hand.

The girl stared right through him, as if determining if it were a trap.

"What is it you want to talk about?"

Luffy took a step towards the girl.

"How did you survive?" he asked, his eyes concentrated on the heiress.

The crew stepped forward, seeing that the girl was not interested in attacking them.

Sanji spoke up. "At least start with your side of the story! From ten years ago."

The girl looked up. 'It's been that long!"

Zoro nodded. The girl began her story.

"It happened ten years ago. Back then I was seven, and the town knew me as Nakito. Me and my mother had gone for an outing.

She was planning on getting some groceries. We were on our way home when the marines attacked.

One of then called her a name that I can't quite remember and shot her. I had no other family, so I buried her on top of this hill.

I ate the groceries that we had, and when they were gone- I ate anything I could find. Bugs, plants, ground up worms, tree bark. And I've been here alone for 10 years." she explained.

Luffy nodded with a sense of understanding.

"Ok. But we can't just leave you here. Would you like to join my crew, I've heard you sing beautifully." Luffy offered.

Nakito shook her head.

"No thank you, I vowed to keep my place by my mother's side. And I can never leave this place."

Sanji, despite the fact that Nakito had lived alone for years, started hitting on her.

"But Nakito- chwan. You have not eaten real food in ten years. It is not healthy for a young lady to eat such filth."

Nakito ignored Sanji, and wiped the rain water from her eyes. The outline of her mother's tomb stone shone as the rain beat upon it.

"No, mama needs me here. And I must stay." she growled, trying not to let these strangers get to her.

Zoro grunted. "Well then we'll leave you and your dead mama alone."

Chopper finally came up with the courage to speak to the ghastly girl.

"Is there something... keeping you from leaving?" he asked quietly.

She nodded. "If I am to go beyond the foot of this hill, I will be killed by the gatekeeper. She told me so when I tried leaving after I spent two days by my mother."

Luffy adjusted his hat. "So you're here by force?"

Nakito stood and looked out onto the gray, cloudy ocean. "Yes. Because I was stupid enough to make a promise I couldn't live up to"

The winds changed direction, blowing hard against the Straw Hats.

"Go home. You do not want to stay here to long. The dead will mistake you for one of them"

Luffy felt the ground move under him, and there was a slow squelch as the ground split open.

"You are going home. Do not be afraid." Nakito whispered, watching the crew disappear beneath the surface.

Luffy jolted upward. Sweat was trickling down his face.

"W-what?' he asked, seeing Zoro by his side.

"I said, wake up. We've reached our new town."

Luffy glanced around, it was all just a dream.

Or maybe it wasn't, because as the ship docked Luffy saw a tall hill, with a lone tree.

And a figure standing ghostly on top.

The horror of Nocturnal Hill.

**It took me a while to get the ending just right. And I kinda got bored with Nakito when she was rambling about how she survived. But at least it's finished. **


End file.
